Over The Rainbow

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Sax Appeal

Knitability

Wee Scottie

The Guggenheim is currently exhibiting America, an installation by the artist Maurizio Cattelan that consists of a fully functional 18-karat-gold toilet. The piece invites visitors, in the words of the museum, to have “an experience of unprecedented intimacy with a work of art.” Here is a selection of images posted on social media by visitors to the exhibit. The average wait to view or otherwise interact with America is, at last check, two hours.

This month we are focusing on the new MINI trend. You’ve seen it all over social media, people making mini pancakes in a mini kitchen, with a mini frying pan. This seems kitsch and silly… but the art of miniaturizing is not easy.

I am lucky to call Chef Bob Spiegel my partner. He is the master at miniaturizing a meal into one bite. I often tease him, and ask if he carries a shrink ray in his pocket. Or maybe he’s just happy to see me.

When Bob and I first started Pinch Food Design, we wanted to focus on “stand–up food.” By that we meant, not sit down plated meals, which we love to do now! But in the beginning we really pushed to elevate the cocktail party experience by creating perfect one-biters passed on intentionally curated trays. We always were solution driven with our tray designs, by truly taking the specific attributes and challenges of the menu item in mind. So a fluffy fried beignet would never be served on a flat silver tray, it would roll all over the place. For this we would create special nooks, or round divots for the mini spheres to rest in place until a guest picked it up and delighted in its tastiness.

Almeda’s pieces are often small enough to sit atop a coin or matchbook. A custom designed motorized curio wheel is needed to achieve the level of precision necessary for such small scale ceramics. “Throwing small really allows me to focus on the shape and form of a piece. It is a very meditative form of creation.”

“Size does matter,” writes Tacoma, Washington artist Jon Almeda on his pottery website. Tiny hand thrown ceramics at 1” (2.54cm) scale are now Almeda’s specialty, despite starting his career with much bigger pieces. He describes the critical moment online:

While browsing a book store, I came across a book called ‘Creating Ceramic Miniatures‘ that really changed my whole outlook and approach.

He’s even developed a special wheel for throwing his tiny pots. It’s a tiny pottery wheel, only two inches in diameter, atop a motor the size of a walkie-talkie. You can see much more of Almeda’s work on his website, including in-progress videos. Jon Alameda, is not only a great talent, he is also a member of the International Guild of Miniature Artisans. I’m hoping to get Chef Bob to join the Guild next year!

In the heyday of music videos, the right video could not only make a band's career, it could also make a huge difference. So was the case with Soul Asylum's 1993 video for "Runaway Train." The song, which was written about depression, was given a different angle by veteran music-video director Tony Kaye, who was prompted to make the video about missing children after seeing famous missing kid Etan Patz's face on a milk carton. Kaye made an agreement with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to display kids only with their parents' permission and to recut the video if a certain child was found. The result? Multiple versions of a now-iconic video (the version below has been viewed nearly 60 million times on YouTube).

Now, 23 years after the video first came out, a reporter attempted to track down some of the missing kids to see who returned and who didn't; the result is a fascinating article about a moment in music-video history and the decline of the use of milk-carton photos as a way to find missing children. Perhaps most interesting is the story of Liz Vatovec, now 39, who ran away at 13 to live with her boyfriend and returned home at 17 after seeing herself in the "Runaway Train" video when it aired on MTV. Some other kids from the video never returned, sadly, but perhaps renewed attention on the video will alert another Liz Vatovec or two out there.

Enamel pins and brooches have definitely boomeranged back around as must-have fashionable accessories. Pinned onto jackets, shirts, coats, or bags, they offer at a quick glance the wearer’s allegiance to nearly any affiliation or topic (hot, or otherwise). But what if your activities fall under those of a more illicit nature?

Does the shape look familiar? Even if you’ve never intentionally left a store with a tag on, almost all of us have walked out with one still attached as an unintended pin of shame. Designer Michał Jońca found inspiration in a funny way, modeling his design after the microchipped security devices commonly affixed to clothing, designed to warn retailers of merchandise exiting without a sale.

With National Sandwich Day behind us, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Friday, apropos of nothing other than the fact that it was four hours until lunchtime, shared on Twitter that for 26 years, he's eaten two ham and cheese sandwiches "nearly every day." The exceptions maybe include Thanksgiving or his birthday, but it's unclear.

The news was followed up with the statement that "like millions of Americans, I bring my own lunch to work" and included a picture of Walker holding mayonnaise:

Sojourner Truth, ca. 1880, sitting at a table with her knitting and a book. | (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division via People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

"It is mesmerizing, even awe-inspiring, to see a ball of yarn transformed through some magical choreography of fingers and needles into items functional or fanciful," Levine writes. "Yet... to watch people knit is to be invited into their private world of contemplation and innermost creative expression."

Levine has been collecting vintage photographs for more than 25 years and has always been drawn to those featuring that intimately meditative act. Though knitting has been around for centuries, the ability to capture anyone mid-mohair-sweater is relatively new. This cross section of technology and such a Luddite pastime may be niche, but Levine's slim volume of 100 photographs of people knitting, dating from the 1860s to the 1960s, is utterly charming. Below, enjoy a look at men and women knitting through generations:

High school boys knitting for soldiers during World War I, Cooperstown, New York, 1918. | (People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

Mary Pickford knitting for the Red Cross, 1925. | (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division via People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

Photograph by J. Peterson, ca. 1939, Shetland Museum and Archives. | (People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

Ca. 1940. | (People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

Knitting for the troops at the beauty salon, London, 1940. | (People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

Nurses knit for soldiers, Melbourne, Australia, ca. 1940. | (Courtesy of Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs, State Library of Victoria via People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

Photograph by John Vachon, Washington, D.C., 1941. | (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division via People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

Doris Day knitting on the set of A Touch of Mink, 1962. | (People Knitting: A Century of Photographs by Barbara Levine, published by Princeton Architectural Press 2016)

It’s kind of startling. Out there in the San Joaquin Valley, work is proceeding on California’s first high-speed rail route. And by work, I mean actual concrete and steel. Workers are creating tangible infrastructure — for instance, a Read More …

Photos by Olga Barantseva
After finding this set of Russian wedding photos where a bear officiant presided over the ceremony (presumably a trained and well-monitored bear?), we couldn't stop thinking about it. Dwelling on it. Grin and bearing it? Blerg. Either way, you can't NOT have questions about this bear officiant in an otherwise gorgeous styled shoot. Here are the seven questions we have about this bearly legal ceremony.

1. Is everyone about to die?
2. Do pink pants go with a persimmon dress?
3. Is this bear holding them hostage and forcing them to get married?
4. Is the bear her dad?
5. Did Putin have something to do with this?
6. If someone kisses the bear, will he turn into a human officiant?
7. Was this an elaborate ceremony, or just the bear necessities?

We may as well lay it all out. If you know any of these bearly answered questions (or just want the bear puns to stop), let us know in the comments. Let's all bear the burden of seeing these (admittedly cute, but potentially life-threatening) shots…

Dearly bear-loved…

Well that's one question answered. Still a bear.

Good job, Smokey. Time to head back to your cave. Only you can prevent forest fires from camping weddings.

A photo posted by Babyclon (@babyclon_oficial) on Oct 25, 2016 at 9:34am PDT

However, according to the Avatar Initium Wiki, male Na’vi genitalia are inside their bodies, and are protected by a layer of fat. They only make an outside appearance when aroused. Hey, the more you know.

A video posted by Babyclon (@babyclon_oficial) on Oct 25, 2016 at 11:50am PDT

Wethinks that Babyclon is probably anthropomorphizing the Na’vi dolls to tug on our heart-strings, so that we view these babies as worthy of our moral care and consideration. We’re totally not embarrassed to admit that it’s working.

Ever wanted to make a place feel more like home? Well, now you can with True Doors!

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Whether you’re a college student wanting to personalize your dorm room entrance, or you’re a grandchild wanting to help a loved one at a care home feel more at home, True Doors are made-to-measure stickers of doors created for people to personalize the entrance to their room or apartment. You can either choose from their extensive collection of door stickers or have a tailor-made one. The best part? “The well-being service is especially useful for people with dementia, as these custom true doors stimulate memory and help with orientation, making it easier for people to find their rooms in new environments such as care homes.” What a beautiful idea!

3. “What are those???”

4. Drake’s pizza delivery

5. Ryan Gosling eats his cereal

The only Vine Ryan Gosling ever posted was a silent tribute to the Ryan McHenry, who created the “Ryan Gosling won’t eat his cereal” Vines. McHenry suffered from osteosarcoma and died in 2015, so Gosling posted this really sweet and silly cereal-eating moment to acknowledge his passing.

6. Gotta catch ’em all

Like Vine, Pokémon GO will surely have an expiration date and this Vine encapsulates the craziness that ensued when the app premiered.

7. Take on her

Do I necessarily understand why this Vine was looped over 100 million times? No. Does it make me laugh? Yes.

8. “Would you not eat my pants?”

Her scream at the end is everything.

9. Beware the ball

Speaking of screams, Jay’s cry at the end of this Vine is bloodcurdling. But it’s also really hard not to laugh.

This professor canceled class for a hilarious reason, his email is going viral

While college is a time of great learning, there are some days you really just hope your professor won’t show up to teach. Well, one professor recently canceled class at Ohio University and made that dream a reality for his students. But the best part was not that class was canceled, but the email he sent to explain why class wouldn’t be going down that day.

Ever been so frustrated at not being able to find a parking spot that you just gave up and went home? Well, that’s what Brandon, an English professor at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, did.

As Brandon’s student Mary shared on Twitter, there was no Introduction to Prose Fiction and Nonfiction on Thursday, November 3rd because the professor simply couldn’t find a “fucking parking space.” By investigating the university course catalog, we discovered that the email was sent three minutes before class was scheduled to start.

Because of that inconvenience, Brandon also gave everyone in class a 10/10 on the quiz that was scheduled that day.

Oh, and did you want to go to office hours?

Well, you were out of luck since Brandon hilariously stated that he needed “a little distance from campus at the moment.”

While we don’t mean to laugh at Brandon’s misfortunes, his email is getting so much traction on Twitter because his rage is not only so palpable from his writing (he is an English professor after all), but also because it’s so damn relatable.

Although some people on Twitter have noted his behavior to his students was unprofessional, we like to think that it just shows his students he’s a real person like anyone else. Because it’s only human to get understandably frustrated with the hell on earth that is parking lots.

If you clicked on or shared that fake news story about Hillary Clinton saying in 2013 that she wished "honest" men like Donald Trump would run for president, or the one that says "your prayers have been answered" because the FBI says Clinton will be indicted in 2017, some young men in Veles, Macedonia — population 45,000 — would like to thank you. At least 140 U.S. politics websites, most of them repackaging fake or misleading news to U.S. political conservatives, have been set up in the town over the past year, BuzzFeed News reports, and it has led to "a digital gold rush" for the teenagers and young men who got in the Trump news game early enough.

The young men behind sites like WorldPolititcus.com, USConservativeToday.com, DonaldTrumpNews.co, and USADailyPolitics.com earn up to $5,000 a month, or more if their articles go viral in the U.S. on Facebook. While many of these digital entrepreneurs also run health sites aimed at the U.S. market, they discovered — after experimenting with Bernie Sanders and other left-leaning content — that fake news about Donald Trump was their ticket to relative wealth. "People in America prefer to read news about Trump," the 16-year-old Macedonian who runs BVANews.com tells BuzzFeed.

The biggest hits for these Macedonian sites are false or misleading articles, and the Macedonian millennials are responsible for much of the hyper-partisan fake news littering up Facebook, BuzzFeed says. The Macedonians interviewed for the article don't care about Trump except as a vehicle for making money. "If Trump loses I plan to redirect my site to sports," one teenager said. A Veles university student added: "Yes, the info in the blogs is bad, false, and misleading but the rationale is that 'if it gets the people to click on it and engage, then use it.'" As economist Noah Smith noted:

Does anyone know of any neuroscientific evidence regarding confirmation bias? Because seeing one's priors confirmed is a hell of a drug.

The glut of fake news isn't great for U.S. political culture, of course, and not all of it is from Macedonia. Earlier this week, Samantha Bee posted her eye-opening interview with two Russian state-sponsored internet trolls who spend their days posting inflammatory comments on Facebook and otherwise messing with the U.S. election on social media. You can watch that below, and read more about the Macedonians at BuzzFeed News.

Living in the Los Angeles area gives one ample opportunities to enjoy international food and drink of all types. When that comes to sodas, the scope of fizzy, sugary soft drinks available extends far beyond the joys of Mexican cane-sugar sodas found in supermercado aisles. National sodas from countries around...

David S. Pumpkins…you are the master of Halloween!

As our heads hit the pillow tonight, we’re going to be trying not to picture the zany face of this dude as he wanders the halls of that giant hotel from The Shining (slash will actually be actively rewatching it on our phones).

Romeo the ginger kittie was born with a deformity that makes him look a little different than other cats. That’s why he never got love and tenderness, let alone had someone to call his owner. Romeo was called ‘too ugly’ and no one wanted him. Until now, that is, because the kind fellows at Santuario Compasión Animal in Spain stepped in and gave this adorable kitty a chance to love and be loved! And so a much brighter chapter of the cat’s life began.

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“They told us that no one wanted him because he was ugly. But for us Romeo is not ugly, he’s a lovely little kitten who likes to play like the rest of the cats. And their differences make them special,” A Santuario Compasión Animal spokesperson told The Dodo.

And all this time, the ginger boy was just as good as other cats – playful, affectionate, and absolutely adorable. All it took was for some sweet people to recognize that in him.

Until one day Santuario Compasión Animal rescued him because they saw the beauty in him

See how with a little bit of love, Romeo’s life changed forever:

California has forests aplenty, but I guess there’s only one that makes a perfect backdrop for celebrating both everlasting love and church burning.

Black metal band Coldvoid was prowling around in Holy Jim Canyon, using the light of the full moon to get some menacing promo shots when they stumbled upon perhaps the least metal scene on Earth: John Awesome and Nydia Hernandez, who were having their engagement photos shot by photographer Janet Wheeland.

“It was a completely random encounter,” one Coldvoid member told Buzzfeed. “We were there taking photos for our band and our drummer Zack’s girlfriend took our photos. The couple approached us with their photographer and we chatted for a bit, and then they asked to take a photo and we were happy to do it.”

Awesome told ABC that they were wrapping the session up when they noticed “a few guys with some corpse paint makeup on sitting at a nearby bench blaring out some black metal music,” as one does. The couple, who had earlier in the day taken some shots themed after Awesome’s favorite movie Forrest Gump, decided a fitting end to the day would be to invite the long-haired men to join. “Super nice people. I seriously can’t make this stuff up,” he said.

Congrats to the happy couple, and hail Satan!

Update: Coldvoid’s Zak Buser, aka Uraeus, told Jezebel that Holy Jim Canyon isn’t an especially uncommon spot for photo shoots, being that it’s one of the more popular hiking destinations in Orange County. Still, he said that he and his bandmates had a nice time hanging out with Awesome and Hernandez, and were more than happy to lend their flaming candelabrum to the couple’s special day.

The band has not yet decided whether they’ll use the couple’s photos in their promo materials. Asked whether engagement photos are metal or not metal, Uraeus laughed pleasantly. “I would say they’re normally not metal,” he said.

Sit back, grab some candy, and relax, because America's dad Tom Hanks has a spooktacular treat in store for us just in time for Halloween. Remember Larry David's nonsensical Kevin RobertsSaturday Night Live police sketch from earlier this year? Well, that same eccentric spirit rages on here, except this time around Hanks plays a delightful oddball named David S. Pumpkins who terrorizes a haunted elevator ride with goofy catchphrases and sensual dance moves. Yes, there are even some horny skeleton sidekicks as well. The less you know the better. Enjoy.

Josh Rossi has proven himself not just as an awesome photographer, but also he’s one of the coolest dad! Known for creating hyper realistic dynamic images, Josh focuses on every little detail to make each image come to life. So when it came to his three-year-old Nellee’s dream of becoming Wonder Woman, Josh decided to go the extra mile, spending $1500 on a hand made leather costume and props for the ultimate Halloween costume and photo shoot to make Nellee’s dream come true!

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With months of preparation and planning of the shoot, Josh worked in collaboration with a studio in Salt Lake City (Mcgrew’s) to create a real leather, handcrafted costume of super heroic proportions. Since the long anticipated Wonder Woman movie won’t be released until next summer, Josh only had the trailer as his inspiration. While Josh was busy creating the props and costume, Nellee and her mom spent hours watching the movie trailer, mimicking the comic book heroine’s facial expressions, gestures and movements. Watching and studying the 1970’s TV series became the regular part of the family nights.

The photo shoot itself took an entire day with the help of an awesome team. During two and a half hours of shooting, three years old Nellee channeled her inner super hero and helped her dad recreate scenes from the upcoming Wonder Woman movie. The final photos were the result of brilliant composite techniques with some Photoshop effects.

If you go to the zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea, there's a chance you'll see a chimpanzee puffing on a cigarette. Officials at the zoo say a chimp named Azalea smokes about a pack a day.

Now, Azalea didn't pick up this bad habit on her own — the zoo actually provides the chimp with the cigarettes and a lighter, as a trick for visitors to ogle. The chimp, however, handles lighting it up all on her own. She can reportedly use either a lighter or a lit cigarette.

Officials insist the chimpanzee doesn't actually inhale, but still, animal rights activists are none too pleased about the trick. "How cruel to willfully addict a chimpanzee to tobacco for human amusement," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement to Time.

The zoo, which was recently reopened after renovations, also features a dog pavilion that includes German shepherds and Shih Tzus, a monkey that can slam dunk a basketball, and dogs trained to look like they're making calculations on an abacus.

This teen completely freaked out after attempting the #100LayersOfClothing challenge, and we feel for her

You’ve seen the #100Layers challenges floating around social media. From YouTube to Snapchat and Instagram, people across the globe have been posting their own attempts to outdo each other — piling on layer after layer of some of the most outrageous things, from makeup, to food, and now clothing.

Andrea, or @_andreeaa3 on Twitter, challenged herself to put on 100 layers of clothing (literally), but once all was said and done, she realized the challenge completely prevented any arm mobility. She couldn’t take the clothes off, and poor Andrea grew increasingly overwhelmed and upset.

Making matters worse, Andrea was home alone when she decided to take on the challenge — so she was completely helpless and unable to remove any of the layers of clothing that she had put on her body! While she is laughing about it now, Andrea understandably panics in the video:

Luckily, two of her friends were able to come over and help her to remove the seemingly endless articles of clothing. It may seem like fun and games, but safety concerns are real when it comes to these viral online challenges. As much as you might want to participate, it’s probably in your best interest to sit this one out if it compromises your own safety.

The old fashioned is a classic cocktail that is generally made with bourbon, sugar and bitters. Those simple ingredients produce a flavorful drink, and also serve as a great jumping off point for variations on the theme. When you go to a cocktail bar, you’ll probably spot some twist on this drink on the menu and it is just as easy to put your own twist on it at home if you feel like playing around. This Harvest Spice Old Fashioned uses bourbon, applejack (an apple brandy; Laird’s is the most recognizable brand), pumpkin butter, cinnamon simple syrup and bitters that really captures the flavor of fall in a glass.

I have used pumpkin puree in cocktails and coffee drinks before, but there are some drawbacks to using plain puree. The biggest drawback is the texture, as it can be fiberous – and you definitely don’t want that in a cocktail. Pumpkin butter, on the other hand, is velvety smooth and usually has both sugar and spices added to it. You can make your own or use storebought (it’s easy to find at most grocery stores this time of year), and it mixes in with the other ingredients easily. The pumpkin also gives the cocktail a little bit of body, so it has a rich mouthfeel and lots of flavor without too much additional sweetness.

I honestly wrestled with the name of this cocktail quite a bit, though it is a very straightforward one, because there are so many delicious flavors in here. You can clearly taste the honeyed pumpkin butter, as well as a nice amount of spice from the simple syrup and the bitters (Pumpkin Spice Old Fashioned). There is also a distinct apple note from the applejack, which ties in just as nicely with those same spices. That is why I oped for the name Harvest Spice Old Fashioned, which touches on all the flavors in the cocktail.

Serve this drink up at a fall dinner, Halloween or Thansgiving. The seasonal flavors are delightful and this cocktail should be a hit both with guests who love bourbon and with guests who love pumpkin, but might have some hesitations with a bourbon-based cocktail.

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake vigorously until well-chilled (about 15 seconds), then strain into a rocks glass with a single large ice cube or a few small ice cubes.
Express the orange peel over the top of the drink by quickly folding it in half, skin side towards the drink, to mist it with orange oil. Drop orange peel into the drink for garnish.